T-61 Main Battle Tank
The T-61 was a main battle tank developed by the Soviet Army starting in 2057 and first being 2061, intended to supplement the T-87 main battle tank until the the T-87s were intended to be phased out completely by 2080. The vehicle was first manufactured at Kirov Plant in Leningrad, with vehicles also being produced in plants in Moscow, Volgograd, and Vladivostok. Design The T-61, known as Object 279 prior to formal adoption in 2061 designed to fulfill the requirements put forth by the Soviet Armed Forces in 2055 for a main battle tank with a weight of no more than 65 metric tons, a main armament of a 125mm main gun firing depleted uranium armor piercing rounds, with the option to be refitted with a railgun or energy main armament it its place. The vehicles was to be protected by composite armor with an RHA equivalent of at least 1000mm on the turret front, decreasing to no more than 600mm RHA equivalent in the rear. The vehicle was to be capable of reaching speeds of at least 70 kilometers per hour. The tank was required to be equipped with sealed crew compartment with nuclear-biological-chemical filtration systems, and to be capable of surviving the detonation of ten kiloton nuclear detonation from a distance of 1 kilometer. The final completed design, first built in 2057, weighing in at 60 metric tons, and was powered by a 1500 horsepower fusion engine driving four tracks, two on each side, capable of speeds of up to 80 kilometers per hour. The multiple tracks, equipped with a hydro-pneumatic suspension allowed the vehicle to travel over rough terrain, while also providing superior weight distribution, allowing the vehicle to drive over wet or swampy terrain. Armor and Protection The T-61 is armored with a classified composite material known to contain layers of steel, plastics, ceramics, depleted uranium, and air pockets. This armor has a RHA equivalency of about 800mm VS discarding sabot rounds and up 1200mm vs HEAT. The vehicle is also equipped with a reflective, heat dissipating coating capable of reflecting or dissipating much of the heat produced by laser or plasma weapon, greatly reducing the probability of penetration. To further increase the protective qualities of the armor, the tank's armor is heavily sloped, and the hull has its characteristic bowl shape, intended to deflect the blast wave of a nuclear detonation away from the vehicle without overturning it. The tank was equipped with an nuclear-biological-chemical filtration system for recirculating air inside the vehicle when properly sealed, and doubled as an air conditioning system, allowing for easier operation in desert environments. The vehicle was operated by a crew of three, a driver, gunner, and commander. Armament The tank dispensed with the older 88mm main gun of the T-87, replacing it with a 125mm smoothbore main gun intended to be comparable to the 120mm main gun on M56 Main Battle Tank. The gun could fire depleted uranium armor piercing discarding sabot, HEAT, HE, canister, plasma shaped charge, and micro-nuclear shells with a yield of two tons. The weapon is equipped with a day-night thermal sight and a laser rangefiinder, and has an effective range of about 4000 meters against a tank-sized target with firing APFSDS, and when firing micro-nuclear rounds, it could prove effective against an area target of about 300 meters at a range of 8000 meters. The main gun was equipped with a semi-automated autoloader, which required input from the gunner before reloading. This feature was first pioneered in the T-87, with the autoloader being made semi-automated to avoid the accidental loss of hands or limbs if they were accidentally place in the path of the autoloader. The tank carried a maximum loadout of 35 125mm rounds. In addition to the standard main gun, the main armament could easily be swapped out with multiple alternative main guns. These included the Type 70 Anti-Armor Plasma Cannon sometimes fitted on the T-87, as well as the 60mm electromagnetic railgun and the 1K42 Anti-Tank Laser Weapon. When armed with the plasma cannon, it had sufficient plasma matrix for 30 shots and the railgun can hold 55 slugs. The laser weapon is powered by the vehicle's reactor and does not need to be reloaded, but will overheat, rendering the weapon unusable for 15-30 minutes after firing about 20-30 shots in rapid succession. The tank is armed with a 7.62mm PKT machine gun as standard, though it can be equipped with a 12.7mm NSV machine gun. The top of the turret has a remote weapons station which can be equipped with an NSV 12.7mm machine gun, a KPV 14.5mm machine gun, a GSG-5.45-6 5.45mm minigun, or a GSG-EP-6 Gatling laser. Operational History Pre-War The T-61 first entered service with the Red Army in 2061, in a period where US-Soviet relations were improving, but tensions that had existed since the Sino-Soviet split continued to breed animosity between the Soviets and China. As such, many of the T-61s were deployed to the Soviet Far East along the Chinese border. In 2066, the Soviets set up a factory to produce T-61s in Vladivostok to allow for faster deployment to the front, which was being rapidly shored up as China began aggressively invading countries such as Mongolia, Japan, Indonesia, and Malaysia. By 2077, the Red Army had over 800 T-61s in service, though the bulk of their over 12,000 tanks were still older models such as the T-87. Postwar During the Great War of 2077, the Chinese deployed their missiles against both the US and the Soviets, destroying most of the most populated cities in the eastern part of the USSR, including Moscow, Leningrad, and Volgograd, destroying most of the factories producing the T-61 and many of the vehicles stored in bases in the cities. Much of the Soviet Far East, including Vladivostok, however, survived the nuclear exchange, with anti-ballistic missile systems intercepting the few missiles bound for the city. In the period after the war, the former Soviet Union fell into chaos, with rival warlords, most of them former Soviet Army officers taking control of regions of the former Soviet Union. From the Ukraine to Vladivostok, rival warlords deployed forces of ex-Soviet armored vehicles, including T-61s, about 300 of which survived the war. Running tank battles became common across the USSR as rival warlords fought for control of postwar USSR. In the Russian Far East, the remains of the Soviet government and military in Vladivostok secured their hold on Vladivostok by 2084, declaring the founding of the Far Eastern Republic. By 2094, the Far Eastern Army and their allies in the Sakha Republic, including about 100 T-61s defeated all enemy factions, securing the wasteland. While the Far Eastern Republic lacked the resources to produce new T-61s, the Vladivostok factory remained, and was used to machine some of the simpler parts of the the tank, as well as produce ammunition for the guns. With their improved reactors, along with the ability of the Far Eastern Republic to produce fusion cores, meant that running tanks were are more common sight even into the 2200s, at which point 21 T-61s, along with 230 other pre-war tanks remained in working order. In 2101, the T-61s saw action along with other Far Eastern vehicles in the Russo-Manchurian War against the Manchurian Empire. While few in number, with the Far Eastern Republic having about 50 in working order, the T-61s proved be easily capable of destroying the Chinese Type 51 series vehicles that were their main adversaries, and proved valuable for leading formations of less advanced tanks, with the T-61s eliminating the most dangerous targets, as well as drawing the bulk of the enemy fire, which they were more easily able to withstand. Category:Vehicles